Acrylic vs Oil Paint | Which is Better for Learning?

[@whatever-s3e]

00:08 got my answer. Thanks everyone. Have a nice day.

[@alexandrayakovleva1438]

Finally the real difference about blending is out. No other videos mention a word about it. I cannot believe artist are not irritated by how fast acrylic dries not only on paper but on a palette. What a waste of paint. I only use acrylic for a small sketch paintings. Not a major work. Thank you!

[@evolveartist]

Nice! Yes using acrylic for a small sketch is a great application of the faster drying medium. ~ Daniel

[@JS-ys2uk]

I use a wet pallete and I also use retarding mediums, sprays, etc. Love acrylics

[@Mistiquex]

​@@JS-ys2uki did that too. Have a huge wet pallete and medium, still it dries too fast on the canvas. Doing gradients is never as perfect as on oil. It's like in this video a bit patchy. What i don't like the most tho about acrylics is the color change. How the color looks when it's wet. Starts to change and get darker already while you are paining, because it dries. So first it's not possible to make a new batch of paint that's precisely the same. If you are painting a object and you need to make a extra batch. The color doesn't match and you can't make the same because the color itself on the canvas itself starts to darken already in a few minutes. So always color, time and shade difference. Secondly when you choose the colors they looks so brilliant and beautiful, but since they look totally different when dry, your composition and color palette don't look as nice together as when you selected them together based on their look when wet and in the tube. Third, the colors in oil are more vibrant and lustrous.

[@felicianomiko5659]

I thought the blending differences between oils and acrylics was always clear. You have to go about blending differently with these mediums. Blending with acrylics requires either a lot of water/medium or glazing layers. The fast drying is a feature not a bug for me.

[@jc-aguilar]

Open acrylics are a great option, combined with non open acrylics you can have a lot of control over the drying times.

[@ingrida1121]

I agree with comparison, however acrylic paints were not supposed to be used like oil paints, and that is where a lot of people struggle, acrylic paints are not supposed to be blended on canvas, only on the pallet.

[@didi7074]

I used to think I would never ever be interested in oil paints because "acrylics work the same and are cheaper" and I'm guilty of searching:" how to blend acrylics like oils". Sometimes I want to spend hours in a single painting to see how far I can go but the paints shut me down. I don't have much experience with gouache and acrylics, I mostly use watercolors. I now look to oils with admiration and I'm really looking forward into purchasing a nice set for myself in the future and one day join your course

[@evolveartist]

That’s really awesome Didi! We’ll be here when you’re ready. When you join Evolve you won’t have to worry about the supplies, we send you two sets of Old Holland paint (1 grayscale and 1 color), and canvas, brushes, medium, and much much more 😊 ~ Daniel

[@mingshi7771]

Daniel your videography has improved so much over time and you’re such a huge part of why this channel is gaining its momentum! 🙌🏻

[@evolveartist]

Jamie thank you so much that means more than you know! I’m learning so much about videography and I have so much more to learn! Thank you for noticing and appreciating the growth so far! 😊 ~ Daniel

[@Sulamanjansulttaani]

Ive painted two acrylic paintings in the last two weeks and i can really feel this hobby taking a grip of me. Im running out of my acrylic paints and as of now, i want to paint everyday. Oil paints for sure seem like the way to go, i hated how fast acrylics dried and i love to do blending and it was harder than i expected with acrylic. Thank you for this video, it was so helpful! Now i just need to find out what techniques should i be learning and in what order. I don't have money for fancy courses right now :/

[@dummybear6772]

I remember trying to paint on my own. Acrylics were such a struggle that I gave up. I still haven´t really committed myself to trying again because I found it so stressful the first time around. I plan to save up so I can start Evolve Artist. I heard about you guys through Mithrilda and I´m so glad I did because this seems exactly like what I´m looking for.

[@evolveartist]

That's super awesome to hear! I'm glad that you haven't given up hope and are still searching for ways to create art. We'll be here when you're ready 😊 ~ Daniel

[@amysbees6686]

I tried acrylics ONCE! Never again!

[@techwizpc4484]

As someone who uses acrylic, you are spot on especially with the blending part. Also, if you didn't apply gesso properly, the acrylic won't stick well and you will see the grids of the canvas. I started out with oil but it was hard because it's like painting with moist clay. I prefer paints with the consistency of honey. I don't know why but maybe it's just the brand of oil I was using. Pebeo has very thick oil paints I had to add baby oil to soften it. Maybe I might give oil another shot when I can purchase a different brand. What brand would you recommend for a beginner in oil?

[@evolveartist]

I would recommend Old Holland oil paint for beginners. Hear me out. Beginner artists need artist grade paint, not student grade. Student grade paints (aka low-quality paint with lots of filler in them) will cause you make changes to how you paint - compared to how you would paint if you used high quality paint - which creates bad habits you might not even be aware of that are hard to shake and slow you down, and you and your teachers will not to be able to tell if it’s the deficiency in the paint or the deficiency in your skill that’s holding you back from moving forward and that all adds up to conclude that you’ll get a great return on your educational investment in purchasing high quality paint. Low quality paint... Makes it hard to mix colors Makes it hard to make gradients Takes longer to cover the canvas Creates bad habits Makes it hard to tell if it’s you or the supplies Makes it hard to move your skills forward So now that student grade paint is out of the way we’re looking at high quality artist grade paint. And there’s a lot of highly respectable oil paint brands out there, but Old Holland is easily recognized as the highest quality oil paint brand in the world and has been consistently for over 350 years. Now, one of the biggest objections beginner artists might raise is the price tag. It’s easy to balk at their price at first glance, but their paint actually has a great cost per value and I’ll explain why. First off, I’m not recommending that you need to go and buy Old Holland’s most expensive tubes - their more affordable stuff is still incredible. They have a whole range of tubes that are more affordable not because they added filler to it, but because they used less expensive pigments - meaning that you’ll still get all of the benefits I’ve already listed. But here’s the kicker - the pigment density is so high, a little bit can cover a canvas much farther than most other brands, meaning that you won’t be burning through as many tubes of paint as you might be used to. So in the end, the prices are comparable to other high quality brands, but the value per ounce is where you get your savings. And I would recommend you use linseed oil to go with it (which is relatively inexpensive). Old Holland's consistency is really nice and luxurious right out of the tube, but having the linseed oil will help you make the consistency exactly as you like it, and the quality won't be diminished. Another option is that you just join the Evolve program 😛 but seriously, we send you two sets of Old Holland paint and other art supplies worth over $1k, all included in the price of the training program. Worth looking into if you're about to make some investments into your art supplies and want to kill two birds with one stone. More info here 👉bit.ly/go-evolve ~ Daniel

[@AssistantLeaflet]

if you want oils with a consistency of honey and a very good paint for less just get gamblin 1980 because of the good quality with a reasonable price point. use a small amount of stand oil and a tiny bit of thinner as a medium. That's the most honey like consistency you could do i wager.

[@paulwoodford1984]

acrylics are far superior for me. Oils are too messy, and time consuming. no time for that crap

[@DenisePollack]

This video almost covers everything.... One thing I do miss is the reason why I do pick acrylics sometimes although I prefer oil most of the time.... I love the variety of acrylic special paint and medium (modelling paste, glow in the dark, glitter and neon colors.....)

[@evolveartist]

ah yes that certainly adds another dimension! Though I would have to make the argument that those special features don't help with learning! But they sure are fun to work with 😊~ Daniel

[@amysbees6686]

Acrylics can be "slowed down" with a retardant. However, it will never be open as long as oil!

[@bacawaka2813]

Have you tried making your own glow in dark oil paint, neons, fluorescent, and glitters, using pigments? I started to make my own metallic oil paint using Green Stuff World Pure Metal Pigments and linseed oil.

[@DenisePollack]

@@bacawaka2813 yes I'm making my own paints sometimes. But right now mostly acrylic and watercolour 🤣

[@MarkSheeres]

I suggest trying Golden Open acrylics. I love them. I do want to try oils eventually, but Golden Open solved the quick-drying problem.

[@evolveartist]

How long does it take for the paint to start stiffening up? - Daniel

[@MarkSheeres]

@@evolveartist It depends how thickly you apply the paint, but you’ve got a solid couple hours to work with it with average application. You can also use typical acrylic tricks like misting. Or you can mix with non-open paint for faster drying time- slower than regular acrylic, but faster than open acrylics.

[@ashram12]

I really have to disagree on this. I tried out oil paints many years ago (before KZbin was a thing), and I had no idea how to dilute the paint and clean up afterwards. So I didn't touch it again until I took an oil painting course many years later. Heck, even now, I find the whole setup and cleanup process of oil tedious compared to acrylics. I understand and agree with the points you're making, but really, I would suggest acrylics to beginners simply because it's so much easier to deal with: you can start working with it without any instruction on how to use it (like how to work fat over lean etc..), you don't need to buy mediums, work in a well-ventilated room etc...

[@evolveartist]

Hey Estrella, thank you for raising these points! We use a pretty simple process for diluting oil paint with a linseed oil bottle with an eye dropper (clean and measurable) and we have our students clean oil paint with ivory soap or dish soap. You need ventilation only if you are working with mineral spirits or toxic varnishes, which we don’t have our students use. So our systems are more straightforward / efficient. But to your point, if someone is trying to find out if they like painting at all, I might encourage them to try a paint-and-sip type of class to see if they enjoy painting in general. But once they cross the threshold towards the goal of “I want to learn how to paint,” then that’s where I make the argument that oil paint is the way to go. Great discussion! Thanks for sharing. 😊 ~ Daniel

[@andrequental1988]

Yeah i find acrylic easier

[@felicianomiko5659]

As a fellow Acrylic painter, I am with you on all of these. Acrylic is easy to clean up, you just need water to dilute it, no need for ventilation of mixing or solvents. And I find the drying time to be a feature not a bug. I feel like acrylics offer more control. You screw up, just wait and paint over it.

[@dayoffnow]

Watercolorist here. I've been pondering trying either acrylics or water-soluble oils, and this video really helps my decision-making. I've always encouraged beginner watercolor artists to use the best quality paints and papers they can afford, so your opening points resonate with me. Thank you!

[@Calicarver]

Both oil and acrylic has their strength and weaknesses. Acrylic is harder to master due to its short drying time, sure. But you can also turn that on its head and say acrylic helps you become better at blending colors on canvas faster. Adding a drying time retarder will also help with blending. All it takes is planning your blending and practice. You will fail and see mixed results but you will be proficient faster because you work faster, you dont need to wait hours and days for your painting to dry for the next layer or section. The biggest factor for me is the toxic fumes from oil paint associated solvents and thinners, and the toxic trash. Cleaning acrylic I scrape off the excess paint before rinsing in water to minimize water pollution.

[@bobbylibertini]

I LOVE the fact that you reveal your premise at the beginning. Such honesty prompted me to watch the entire video, even though I've been exploring the idea of getting started with acrylics.

[@MichaelBrooksmsb400]

My preference is Oils, as it was what I started out with, when I took up Independent Study Art in High School when the teacher dropped a box of used Oil Paints in front of me, taught me how to stretch Canvas on a frame (two 30"x40" pieces, one in Oils and one in Acrylics)...he then said....have at it! Those two paintings have sold for $1000 each. What are your thoughts on Water Mixable Oil Paints?

[@mangao4334]

What the paint color on the wall? Love the green against the brown

[@rubyanddelilahandnani]

I started with acrylic and still paint only with them.. however I have become very curious about oils. It intimidates me though because I don’t know what else I’d have to buy apart from the actual paint.. linseed oil and this and that. I also heard you have to paint in a well ventilated area(something I don’t have). With acrylic I pick out my colors and get to it. Simple.

[@evolveartist]

I hear you Ruby, there's so much information out there it's overwhelming! Who to listen to? And what piece of information is more important than another? I recommend that you look for an authority you can trust, and stick as closely to their exact process as possible. Don't contaminate the waters by mixing educations, even if both of them are good 🙂 much better to trust one and stick with it, learning everything you can from them, before moving on to another. You'll find it is a much more anxiety-free experience. In Evolve, we show you exactly what to do and what you need, and we send you all the art materials so you don't even have to do all the research. The oil paint and medium we use is toxic free, and so you don't need to worry about the ventilation. The education is completely comprehensive for getting you pro level skills in oil paint (and you could easily translate those skills into acrylic afterwards). Also, for a full breakdown on the art materials we send you, you can watch this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4iYXnlsh6mDrcU 🙂 ~ Daniel

[@ManniBurgard]

I paint with both media. When painting with acrylics, I often use the dry painting technique for smooth transitions. But that is time-consuming. There is a good trick to prevent acrylic paint from drying quickly on the palette. Simply moisten a sheet of kitchen paper with water and then put the acrylic paint onto it. This prevents the paint from drying quickly on the palette. The paints stay moist as long as the kitchen paper is moist and can therefore be used for 1 to 2 days.

[@sleyaraze8916]

I'm going to be using both for my fundamentals. I was an acrylics only guy because of the budget but to get hold of my fundamentals properly I've decided to be simultaneously using oil for learning.

[@evolveartist]

That's awesome! Glad I was able to help

[@keanancupido]

I have to agree. I must say, I started with water colours and then moved to acrylics later on (I couldn't afford oils at the time) so I had many failed paintings because I had to learn to work quickly. That being said, now that I'm using oils it is easier to some degree but I tend to use oils with the acrylic mind so I get frustrated when it doesn't dry quickly 😅

[@ingrida1121]

Ironically, you started with the hardest medium and ended up with the easiest.

[@cynthiasmith6465]

I completely agree with him. If you start trying to learn with inferior tools you will become frustrated and give up and lose confidence quickly thinking it's you. When I started sewing I bought high quality tools and fabric. Painting, same. Don't waste your money and time working with cheap tools. You will fail and lose interest and confidence feeling like a failure. Give yourself the best chance and invest in you. Be brave. Go forward in good cheer and stay that way. Celebrate your accomplishments.

[@evolveartist]

Love this! So true. ~ Daniel

[@elrey-xc8rl]

I took a painting class before the pandemic and we were using oil paints. That was my first experience really understanding the fluidity of oils and how well they blend, in comparison to acrylic paints

[@Kiriak_1228]

What's the best brand for beginners to use l will appreciate it if take the time and tell me thank you

[@lindabausman7902]

You are so pleasant and easy to listen to!

[@user-cp3xx1rk5g]

Thanks a lot Daniel! I was preparing to hunt for a weekend art class to learn how to paint for my upcoming year's of "Evolution as a Person" course, and you just provided me with comprehensive and extensive information on which mediums I should try first, so I had chosen SUBSCRIBE! as quickly as possible... Next up is the Mini Course!

[@amysbees6686]

Excellent advice, Daniel! I love oil paint! I used to be "afraid" of toxic pigments until I discovered Gloves On A Bottle. I still use common sense and prudence, but I don't worry about any problems. I use my cadmium yellow, cobalt blue and others with confidence. I do have a lead white mix that use gloves with. I don't eat when using it, either Clean-up is NEVER down the drain! I don't want even a trace of toxic pigments entering the water supply!

[@evolveartist]

So glad to hear you found a way to use even the toxic paints in a safe, ethical way 😊 ~ Daniel

[@zaldum386]

So where is it?

[@amysbees6686]

@@zaldum386 I wash my brushes with soap, then rince in three glass jars with water. The ones with the most pigment/dirty are disposed of responsibility with other harmful chemicals.

[@hereyougofirst]

ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow/red and titanium white are the ones that i use all the time 😔 i didnt know i should avoid them 😔 can you suggest me alternatives for these tree colors (blue,yellow,red)? thanks and i wish you a happy new year!☺️♥️

[@JowelleDfouni.HappyArt]

I think it comes to also what kind of paintings you want to paint. I started out with acrylics because I like how vibrant and mat the colors are. I like to paint mainly in an illustration way. I just started oil yesterday and I did find it very relaxing because it never dries and you can’t do really do mistakes as it’s very easy to correct. However it’s hard to do the kind of illustration I love so now am gonna mix both. For example do the background in acrylic, let it dry and paint my funny characters in oil and really have fun with it. I am a bit hyper so the drying part with acrylics was always very stressful for me. Can that work? Thank you for a great video!

[@HudaAlhasani-o6j]

So true thats why i love oil color but i wish if it take less time to dry

[@susanfarley1332]

Whoa! When i first started out painting it was oil. The slower drying time of oil is so helpful. I tried doing stuff in acrylic that i can do with oil and it was hard and unsuccessful. Well, duh. They are two different mediums. I was suprised to see my acrylic paint start changing texture and become hard to blend ...well it just started clumping or globbing up. Oil is lovely to work with. Transparent oil paint is fun to play with. 😊

[@feed_tastes]

I started with acrylics and it was easy. But I am confused when to use oil and thinner in oil painting.

[@evolveartist]

Yes there's a lot of confusion and misinformation about using oil and thinner in oil painting. In Evolve we provide custom paint and supplies to our students so that we can easily instruct our students through a specific process. This allows them to focus on what matters and ignore the things that don't, for the current learning stage they are in. You can imagine how much friction gets removed when we do this. When to use oil and thinner depends largely on your process for painting. If you are using pencil or transfer sketches to start your drawings, you likely don't need to use any linseed oil in your paint unless it feels very thick and dense. If that's the case, just add a small drop and see if that improves the fluidity of the paint. Additionally, you can substitute toxic thinners for ivory soap when cleaning your brushes. Hope that helps 🙂~ Daniel

[@alfreddouglass2416]

Just phenomenal. Wish you lived on Cape Cod. I started with oils, switched to acrylics, then took a LONG hiatus---sailing, etc.---and now want to go back to painting my realistic seascapes and boat "portraits", Do you have any beginner's books you might recommend?

[@JTMC93]

I am curious on your thoughts on learning painting when the paint impacts breathing. I have found if I paint for more than a few minutes without completely vacating the room and leaving the painting in a different room that has better venting via a fume hood or bathroom vent. Or someone on oxygen. (Like my mother following her catching the Human Malware last December.) Also what is your opinion on a Wet Pallette for Acrylic painting to offset the paint drying on the pallete? (A good wet pallette will keep the paint viable for days if not weeks in my miniature painting experience.) Edit: What is the solvent you recommend?

[@evolveartist]

Hey JTMC93, I’ll answer your questions one at a time: 1. I don’t have the authority to speak from a doctor / health perspective in a situation where the paint impacts breathing. But there are multiple kinds of paint - acrylic, oil, watercolor, etc. - and different ways paint is made, with different ingredients and pigments. Someone may react to one more than another. And I mentioned that some pigments can be toxic while others aren’t. So, I would recommend trying different paints and see if there is one that doesn’t cause any breathing issues. And keep in mind that poor quality paint tends to use unhealthier ingredients, so do your research and get good quality paint. 2. I mentioned in this video that you can increase the drying time of acrylic. But at that point, you are essentially turning acrylic into a lesser version of oil paint, in my opinion. The one thing that makes acrylic so different from oil is that it can dry really fast. If the acrylic dries really slow, then you want to compare its features against the features of oil paint - how easy it is blend / mix colors, how much control you have with the paint, etc. and oil paint wins in those categories. 3. To thin down oil paint, I recommend cold pressed linseed oil. To clean oil paint, I recommend dove soap. No solvents or mineral spirits are needed. Let me know if I was able to answer all your questions! Thanks for reaching out 🙂 ~ Daniel

[@youwantit502]

Can we use maries oil paints?

[@eyeonart6865]

They sell Chroma Atelier Acrylic paint that works like oil. Best thing that has been invented for beginners. Their unlocking formula unlocks the dry paint, brilliant.

[@Mazeingpower]

I love acrylic paint. The way i do it is with an ultra fine mister i sprits my palate almost all the time and i can make super fine gradients.

[@evolveartist]

Glad you found a way to work around one of the most common problems of acrylic! 😁 ~ Daniel

[@Mazeingpower]

@@evolveartist :) i would love to do oils but in my tiny house and dealing with solvents and stuff i just cant but, I love their ability to move and shift colors around. Little acrylic secret i like to do is add Liquitex gel+water to my ultra fine mister and it makes it last even longer.:)

[@shubham_M7777]

@@Mazeingpower so which is better for beginner? There is video saying oil painting is hard, you can't sleep in room where you draw oil paint drawing, also oil painting is totally different from acrylic paints, can you help me?

[@fla01003]

​​@@MazeingpowerI really appreciate your comment and tip about adding Liquitex gel to the fine mist sprayer. Which gel is it exactly and how much do you add? I'm just looking for ways to improve my ability to blend soft edges as an acrylic painter.

[@carmelocaramelo2296]

Would this advice apply to Water mixable oils?

[@iam_karla]

They work the same.

[@kordianronnberg9090]

I totally agree. I have always admired people who can paint with acrylics. In my case, the temptation of speed always ended in endless corrections, and chasing changing colors on the canvas. It seems to me that oil also simply looks better right out of the box, more organic, while acrylics have something plastic about them. It takes great skill to be able to achieve results with acrylics similar to oil paints.

[@boombam5674]

Thank you so much. I’m so relieved after watching this video. You’re absolutely right. Took a weight off my shoulder there

[@evolveartist]

Great to hear 😁 ~ Daniel

[@Tiffany.btattoos]

Thanks so much for this video. I’ve always been wondering if I should switch to oils but thought they were harder to use? But now I see the the difference in blending and the dry time it makes more sense. I always had that problem with acrylics and thought oils dried just the same

[@evolveartist]

Glad this was helpful Tiffany! 😊 ~ Daniel

[@funlightfactory6031]

I literally laughed out loud at "how to blend oil like acrylic." ROFL! Thanks for the videos!

[@evolveartist]

Haha yes!! You're very welcome 😊 ~ Daniel

[@MasonMak-sw2um]

Thank you so much! Clear, to the point, soothing to listen to you speak and learn!

[@querenstewart9944]

Hi Daniel This is good information and I hope to see more soon. Love the frustrated painter at the end think we have all been there at some time. Looking forward to seeing Saturday master painting just sorry to see them coming to the end . Hope to see more evolve videos popping up as they are my life line. Still painting taking on the big boys doing study's of Rembrandt and titan to practice my skills ? Setting up a space so I can do still lives is my next move for further improvement! Moving at a better place thanks to you and Kevin. again Sheila

[@evolveartist]

That's awesome Sheila! Yeah still lives are great for learning because you can control your reference with simple lighting and get a command over the essential fundamentals 😊~ Daniel

[@jackjarencabanilla9812]

i usually add a 2nd layer to smoothen out the acrylics

[@travelmooks9303]

I really like this video. I’ve always wanted to paint with oil. This might be what makes me take the leap. Learning and painting with acrylic was sooooo stressful! I felt pressured and like I was always chasing time. I felt like I wasn’t learning the skills completely because there was always so much to think about (like paint drying) 😂 anyway all this to say, that experience made me not want to paint anymore. But now I’m thinking about starting with oil and building my skill from there. Such a beneficial video, thank you!

[@william-pc4qg]

Do you have a list of the basic skills and in what order they should be learned?

[@reference2592]

Best real answer with evidence out there.

[@pollynlyubenova8365]

I agree with everything but it really depends on your style. Someone might prefer that less smoothly blended look as it would fit their style better. I also personally have always liked how sheer acrylics can look. It's up to your style.

[@evolveartist]

Thank you for bringing up this point! I wanted to emphasize that these findings are focused on which is better for learning, specifically. In Evolve we take the stance that the quickest and most effective way to learn is to focus on the fundamentals first. The fundamentals are like learning the alphabet of the language of art. Imagine trying to find your style in poetry without first knowing the alphabet - pretty complicated to do! But once an artist has the fundamentals locked in, then style comes easily after. And even then, I'd like to add that Evolve isn't the only way to learn! Some people might rather have more fun discovering their style as they learn the basics. We simply focus on finding the shortest path to gaining the skills necessary to create art without limitations :) Thanks again! ~ Daniel

[@TheArtBloom2536]

Is winsor and newton a good quality oil paint to use

[@evolveartist]

Generally speaking, yes they are consistently a good quality brand 👍 ~ Daniel

[@amysbees6686]

Use the Windsor & Newton Artisan line. The "Winton" is student grade (less pigment, more fillers).

[@wilhelm4236]

I thaught myself with acrylics. I got really nice results, but cannot escape the cartoonyness in portraits as the blend is not as smooth. I am going to try a faster drying oil next painting.

[@iam_karla]

When I was a student, I used oil frequently but I got sick of the smell and the longtime of its drying period I decide to go to acrylic.

[@bethelight6130]

How long do i have to wait before I put the varnish? ( my oil painting is thin layer as you showed at video). Everybody says, that about one year, but i think it depends on how thick you apply the paint. Am i wrong or not?

[@evolveartist]

Yes it does depend! If your painting is a thin layer like in this video, then you could be able to varnish the painting in as early as 1-2 weeks after. Sometimes different pigments take longer to dry than others, or the humidity can change the drying time, so as long as you make sure the surface is bone-dry across the entire painting (and the paint surface is thin), you should be good to go. ~ Daniel

[@MarwahMoorad]

Hi Daniel, this video is really making me give a try to oils. One thing that kept me away from oils is the smell, which you already explained, so that would be resolved with artist quality paints. Other thing is their extremely slow drying time. I work in acrylics and most frustrating thing is their drying time, which ironically also is the best thing about them for which I love acrylics. As a person who doesn't have a separate space for art, acrylic paintings are really convenient to store. But here you mentioned that we can speed up drying time of oils too to even overnight, how is that possible? is there any specific medium for that? Another question, does sennelier or winsor & newton are good to go brands for artist oil paints? And one more question, how does driers work? I was looking at oil painting stuff and found cortrai drier of sennelier and was curious if that would really speed up the drying process to somewhat near to acrylics.

[@evolveartist]

Hey Marwah! Yes if you use a little bit of alkyd medium and paint thin enough just to cover (completely & opaquely), the paint should dry overnight. Even painting with linseed oil can have the painting completely dry overnight in many cases. There’s a lot of factors involved so it’s hard to say for certain - how much medium you use, the climate / environment, as well as what pigments you use, so it’s something you can figure out into a formula as you experiment at home. Or just join Evolve Artist and we can show you exactly what to do and give you pointers for your specific location / situation. I can’t speak to the quality of Sennelier and Winsor & Newton, though I’m aware that Winsor & Newton is a considered to be a respectable brand by many. I use Old Holland paint and even recommend it for beginners. It makes such a big difference that we had to find a way to include it in the materials we send our students in the program. If you’re really serious about leveling up your oil painting skills you should definitely check out Evolve before you buy supplies because we include over $1k worth of oil painting supplies as part of the program. Here’s a link for more info: bit.ly/evolve-artist-foundation-program Hope that info helps Marwah! 🙂 ~ Daniel

[@marieavela6627]

You are so right. Acrylics are very difficult to work with. I started with pencils, then pastels, then oils, now acrylics. Big difference, big!

[@riderz_13_78]

Wish i seen this before i bought a bunch of Arcrylic paint i still managed to psint some beautiful pieces but blending is definitely hard af with Acrylic but doable

[@anar3606]

😂

[@miraib4002]

Thank you Daniel. I am beginner and start with acrylic painting but always get frustrated because of drying time and I can’t blend smoothly. I wanted to try oil but concern how to handle it as I live in very small apartment in Tokyo.

[@evolveartist]

As long as you aren't using toxic solvents like turpentine or mineral spirits you should be fine! Also better to use higher quality paint so that it's not full of fillers. Get a set from a highly-rated oil paint brand like Old Holland and you should be fine. ~ Daniel

[@jerimiejessop2997]

What brand of oil paint? I bought a set set Michael’s

[@evolveartist]

At 11:03 I mention that I encountered some cheap, poor quality oil paint with lots of filler... Michael's Artist's Loft oil paint was actually the paint I was referring to. Don't base your opinions of oil paint on that brand. You want a reputable brand of oil paint that consistently shows as one of the best up in online reviews. For those who are serious about developing their skills, I can't recommend Old Holland enough: www.oldholland.com/ ~ Daniel

[@barbaradesigns9395]

that is all so true! There's also the person who doesn't speak, just puts up a cryptic caption about every 60 seconds meant to explain the next step.

[@eastraversupplies7843]

That all is so true. I had had a huge break from painting and when I decided to get back to it I purchased acrylic paints (a lot of acrylic paints 😅🙈) because I didn’t have a dedicated place to work with solvents, even though I’ve always liked the smell. And the struggle began. The more I tried to work with acrylics the more I hated painting (my background is graphic design and digital illustration), in fact I even put them aside for some time and switched to graphic material (pencils, oil pastels, sauce, even gouache). Then I found out about water mixable oil paints and omg, that was exactly what I was looking for. I still use my acrylic paints (I have a big box of them after all 😭) for toning canvas or underpainting and for some graphical experiments but oil is just so much more enjoyable to work with, especially if you take painting process as some recreational and meditative type of activity 🧘‍♂️ Love your channel btw

[@evolveartist]

So awesome to hear you found a medium that excites you to paint again! Maybe I should do a video of Water Mixable Oil Paint vs Oil Paint soon 🤔 ~ Daniel

[@eastraversupplies7843]

@@evolveartist that “water mixable” tag starts making sense once you start calling traditional oils “turpentine mixable” 😝 other than that I can’t see any difference really, linseed oil is still your best friend

[@amysbees6686]

@@evolveartist Daniel, You can use Schminke Medium W to make regular oil paint water miscable. It cleans up quite easily! You can use it with regular oils together as well!

[@devernepersonal3636]

My problem comes more from having so many subjects and compositions in my head that I can't translate the same way or at all into even a drawing. I drew a lot in the past but even then what was in my mind didn't come out. Maybe I'm silly but the quick drying of acrylic is why I want to use it. Of course I hope to use oils. I'm most concerned about getting my stuff out of my head and out of the descriptions of art I've written for myself. I think the case for oils is made here and acrylics just in that the correct non toxic mediums and brush cleaning tools can make a huge difference. I talk like I'm good. I haven't painted much. More of an idea guy since I have yet to have the patience to fail and eventually arrive.

[@evolveartist]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts DeVerne! A lot of artists like to sketch out their preliminary underpainting with acrylic because it dries so fast, and then they paint with oils on top of it. Nothing wrong with that! And you can also do that with oil paint by adding a medium to help it dry faster (though it won't dry quite as fast as acrylic can, and you'll have more time to get your idea out before it seizes up on the canvas) - it ultimately depends on how quickly you want to make that sketch or underpainting. It sounds to me like you could really benefit from learning proportional drawing, so that you can more accurately get those images out in the way you intend. Here's a video about that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpradWavoLembZY 😊 ~ Daniel

[@supertrucker99]

I've wondered about this... Unfortunately I am on my 35th acrylic now. I bought oils.ty

[@afonsoazevedo34]

You will never see on internet " how to paint over the layer i made with acrilic ? " but you will see a lot of videos in this styles for oil paint

[@evolveartist]

There’s a few videos about layering acrylics (kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWS2pmNoerd2mas) but I hear your point Afonso. Even so, the point I’m making is that oil is easier to learn with in the things that really matter for beginners. Painting in layers is a technique, not a fundamental, like edges are. Fundamentals trump technique every time. ~ Daniel

[@sherrysimmons9720]

I think you explain that very well Daniel...and you hit every problem I have.... 😳.. your right... 💕

[@evolveartist]

That's awesome to hear! I was concerned that I may have missed some things 😊~ Daniel

[@jeffmoodie6144]

I decided to get into painting a couple years ago. I tried cheap acrylic and cheap brushes and was extremely disappointed. I’m bull headed though and wanted to overcome the shortfalls of what I started with. I went with artist grade heavy body acrylics, upgraded my brushes and the difference was huge. Next was switching to a long open acrylic. More expensive again but it fits the bill at this point. I do regret not starting with oil as I have researched it and determined that most of the reasons I decided against using oil were actually incorrect or were mitigated by using different products. The open product seems to give me what I need though so oil isn’t in my near future.

[@pedramtajeddini5100]

Oil paint has such a strong smell that makes me cough

[@migsdoeseverything547]

I have a question as someone trying to decide whether or not to start with acrylic or oil: you say you don’t need to use turpentine or mineral spirits to clean/thin paint, so how would you clean brushes mid-painting? like when acrylic painters dip their brush into water then into a paper towel to get rid of the paint so that they can get another color on the brush

[@evolveartist]

Most of the time you can simply use a dry paper towel or rag, but you can also use a little bit of linseed oil to thin the paint more. Linseed oil (and paint, brushes, canvas, etc.) is a great, natural, non-toxic medium and something we provide with the Evolve program, where we go into more depth over the process of painting without any toxic material.

[@migsdoeseverything547]

@@evolveartist thank you very much, I appreciate it 😁

[@tinyypaws]

Your voice is so calming

[@evolveartist]

Thank you Jiminluv! 😊 ~ Daniel

[@tkv5661]

I really like how unexplained everything. I wish I would have had someone teach me the oils and all the tools needed with oils.

[@evolveartist]

Thank you I appreciate that! If you’re looking for a guide I can’t recommend Evolve’s program enough. They guarantee results and it sounds insane but they take it very seriously. They give feedback on every assignment within about 12-6 hours before moving you to the next lesson and students can have one-on-one meetings with instructors. They also take care of the art supplies to ensure quality results. I learned everything I know from Kevin Murphy before he co-founded Evolve. Worth looking into if you haven’t already! 😊 ~ Daniel

[@Max9_captain]

I learned painting with acrylic colors only, i want to try oil paint, i think it improve my comfidence, the whole time I'm using acrylic, I'm not free because you have to speed up the blending before the paint dries

[@Lordofpsychoticrat]

I always thought that painting with oil paint would be complicated, since i used acrylics all the time and didn't know anything about oil paint. I had a bad relationship with it since that one time of when i tried it as a child. Later , about 10 months ago, i started using acrylic paint, and let me tell you - my paintings were really bad. Later on, i researched a bit about oil paint. I started looking at videos of other people painting with it, and sort of fixed my relationship with it. Then, after i ended up being obsessed with it even without using it. I wanted to paint with it, but i couldn't afford to buy all the supplies needed in one time. Then an amazing surprise happened - my mother gave me her old oil paint collection that she used to paint with! And when i tried it for the first time (not counting that one time when i was a kid), I already had some knowledge built up, so the first practise painting turned out quite amazing. Oil paint can blend amazingly smoothly but leave room for details. Long story short, it's much better than acrylics for me and probably one of my favourite mediums already. My advice - research the medium that you're interested in, and buid up knowledge about it!

[@evolveartist]

That’s awesome! Thank you for sharing 😊 really neat to hear how getting the right knowledge propelled you forward to start off strong 💪 so many artists just jump in without first considering what path or process to take! ~ Daniel

[@ZadenZane]

I can think of one thing acrylics can do that oils cannot, you can thin acrylic paint down to the consistency of ink (or just buy it as acrylic ink) and then apply it with a pen, either a dipping pen with a nib or a paint marker for dead straight lines. You can also spray acrylic with an airbrush. I'm not sure you can do those things with oil paint. (Maybe you can, but I haven't heard of it.)

[@citadelofwinds1564]

I can say from experience that learning with oils is indeed easier than learning with acrylics. For beginners, every step is going to take longer, from mixing colours to the painting process, and it's harder with acrylics because they dry so fast - on the palette, on brushes and on the canvas. Oils give you time to mix colours at leisure, to apply paint to canvas, to wipe off areas if they don't work out and to repaint while the paint on the canvas is still wet, so the repainted area can be blended more seamlessly into the surrounding area. One also doesn't have to worry about paint drying on brushes during a session. Oils give you the time and space to focus on learning the skills. All of this I learned on my own through trial and error, and I'm glad that this video has confirmed my experiences and conclusions about which medium is the easier one for beginners.

[@kleinekuenstlerin7717]

I thought Rembrandt oil paint is of higher quality but it smells really bad in comparison to other oil paints such as Schmincke Norma, for instance.

[@kawazakisama]

All what I needed to know is in this video. Thank u man ❤

[@nikiromih5306]

I've been oil painting for 3 years now. But now i've purchaced acrylics just because it's so hard to find more oil friendly materials like gold leaf glue, or glow in the dark paint. I wanna do more mixed media and oil is just been a obsticle in this. I love painting in oils but i really lack the creativity lately due to the many rules one must follow when working woth oils. Dunno if i'll like acrylics tho but i hope i will. And also not 1 tube of my oil paint was as expensive as the acrylics i've purchaced just to be able to get good coverage 😅 my 8€ oil paint tube was pretty cheap in comparrison to what i had to get in acrylic just to get a good pigmentation 😅

[@evolveartist]

Interesting! Thank you for sharing Niki 😊 hopefully your investments work out for you to create the art you envision 🙂 ~ Daniel

[@BeatriceT-h2x]

I prefer gouache and colored pencils i cant achieve realism without pencils so good

[@susanfarley1332]

I bet my mom wished i had been using acrylics when 3 years old. Lol. While visiting my relatives farm everyone went to pick vegetables for dinner. My mom drove us to the field in her car and all the adults got out to start picking. Maybe because of snakes or something me and my 3 year lod uncle were left in the car. After a while i got bored. Looking around in the car i found my moms oil paints. I decided to do something nice for my mom and decorate her car! I loved colors. We were not allowed out of the car so i painted so many colors on the interior. Not the glass, but everything else. That kept us quiet and busy for quite some time. I was absolutely thrilled to make the car pretty for my mom. I dont remember getting punished. But oil paint has a sliw drying time. I wonder how long it took for the car upholstery to dry?

[@FreyadeVries98]

Oil painting gives you the time and relaxation you need while learning. There are special wet pallets for acrylic paints but when you put it on the canvas it is a race against time if you want to blend or you will need an airbrush with water in it to spray onto it but that's costly and makes a hell lot of noise.

[@evolveartist]

I haven't worked with airbrush myself, but it also sounds like it could be difficult to create gradients in smaller, tighter areas. That being said I've seen some incredible work done in airbrush 🤷‍♂~ Daniel

[@FreyadeVries98]

@@evolveartist airbrush can be amazing. But also very dangerous since it sprays very tiny little drops of paint. If you use it in a little art attic (like my own room). It can cause serious harm overtime to your lungs. Oil painting is completely harmless if you paint without adding things like terpentine or thinner to it. I always wondered why they used thinner or terpentine..? From what I've seen it's not necessery at all. Not even for cleaning brushes since you can clean them with ivory soap just fine. Evolve artist also doesn't work with these so I wondered why some others do? Maybe lack of knowledge, I honestly don't know.

[@evolveartist]

@@FreyadeVries98 Yes oil painting is harmless without those toxic solvents, and even more so if you refrain from using toxic pigments like lead white. People have their reasons for using turpentine and these reasons are often debated in the art forums. For us, we determined that the benefits - slightly faster drying time, for example - weren't worth the potential harm for our students or their pets. ~ Daniel

[@FreyadeVries98]

@@evolveartist There are even safe alternatives like Real Milk Paint Citrus Solvent made of 98 percent citrus peel oil and 2 percent water. Or Chelsea Classical Studio Lavender Spike Oil, which evaporates at a similar rate as turpentine. Though, the smell can be a little bit overwhelming. You'll smell like a lavender field all day, I imagine. But I love that Evolve chooses to not use all these special technique stuff and focuses on the fundamentals of oil paint and basic knowledge. Can't wait to start the program!

[@evolveartist]

@@FreyadeVries98 very interesting! Technology for the win. Looking forward to having you in the program Freya 🙂 ~ Daniel

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

But acrylics are easy to keep wet weeks in a stay wet palette...unlike oils. Acrylics... you open stay wet palette...use water ..paint and rinse brushes..close ....which could be used daily unlike oils

[@evolveartist]

Good point! I’m not very familiar with stay wet palettes. Based on what you’re saying (and my limited knowledge of stay wet palettes, both acrylic and oil) it does sound like this is a point in favor of acrylic. With oil paint you can extend the drying time drastically with clove oil, but then it takes longer to dry on the painting. Or you can peel back the dried skin of a mixture of oil paint to access the still-wet paint inside… but still it doesn’t sound as convenient as what you’re describing with acrylic. That being said, paint conservation isn’t as high of a priority as other factors in regard to what’s most important for learning, which is the focus of this video. Most painting exercises require only a small amount of paint. As you acquire more skills and get accustomed to knowing the amounts of paint you need to mix and cover a given surface, it gets easier and easier to keep paint waste to a minimum. Still, this is a point in favor of acrylic! Thanks for sharing and contributing to this topic 🙂 ~ Daniel

[@lize2062]

i thought I was bad at painting becouse I wasn't good with acrylics, but when I changed to oils, I saw that I wasn't the problem 😅

[@evolveartist]

That's awesome! 😃 ~ Daniel

[@JohnDoe-mj5sn]

I agree .. i started with acrylics long time ago and i learned it in the hard way ahahah was still fun but with oils could be much easier . you are right, with acrylics there a lot more problems to resolve for a beginner : acrylic paint its really hard to blend because especially student grade paint dry really fast . you waste a lot of color already on the palette for the same reason ,so you need to rewet them constantly with a airbush or a water spray bottle. Acrylics need to be used mainly in layers and its quite difficult to to do for a beginner as well , plus cheap paint became darker when dried or change hue, so you need to compensate that as well.... The only problem with oil is that its on average more expensive , you need a canvas or a dedicated surface to use them , you will need a solvent and other chemicals too, these are probably the things that push so many people to dtart with acrylics ... acrylics work everywhere and they need just water . Acrylics are also lil more healthy to use especially for our lungs but water soluble oil can be a solution. But yeh oils are overall more practical for absurd a lot of people dont get this ... even professional artist . A lot are scared by oil colors for some reason 😂

[@KevinMurphy01]

As an artist named Kevin Murphy, I salute you!

[@evolveartist]

Thank you Kevin Murphy 😄

[@Arwa14-o9t]

Wow beautiful explained

[@micah0519]

I thought it was just me I realised my paints were acrylic I was confused how to blend them well like the other tutorials w portraits and such but oil paintings r so good

[@juliepeck6915]

I started with Acrylic and so when I tried oils I wanted to paint the way I did before and it became muddy. Also my biggest turn off for oil is solvents. That’s the biggest reason why I haven’t switched. Again I have tried the water soluble oils but it comes with its own unique differences. I think with any medium you are going to find that you have to learn new techniques and it will never be one as the other. I later tried watercolors and I loved certain things and not so much others, but didn’t just give up on them. I’ve also tried oil pastels , dry pastels & recently pan pastels. I would absolutely love to give Oils another shot!! I’m one of those people who has to study the crap out of something 1st before I’ll actually try it. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing . But anyway, I have signed up for your upcoming event, Transforming Your art this Fall, and I’m very much looking forward to it.

[@evolveartist]

That's awesome Julie! In the Foundation Program (Blocks 1 - 4) we do not paint with any toxic solvents. Instead we use linseed oil. I'll see you on the 31st 🙂~ Daniel

[@gclip9883]

Maybe you could give watermixable oils a try? I started with acrylics, but quickly switched over to oil. I went to my artist supply store and got paints from Winsor and Newton. I only found out afterwards that they were watermixable, but i think that it was the right choice. The biggest pro for me is that you dont need any solvents, so the problem of smell and potentially harmful fumes doesnt exit. Also, they dry a little bit faster than regualr oils. It is still way slower than acrylics, but you dont need to wait a week between sittings. I also found that they were way more opaque than acrylics for the same price, and i dont have the problem of brush lines were i dont want them. If you ever want to try again, i can highly recommend watermixable oil paint.

[@evolveartist]

@@gclip9883 you also don't need solvents or any toxic materials for oil painting. Yes there are toxic materials out there that artists use, but they are certainly not necessary for oil painting and Evolve doesn't have any toxic materials in their art supply kits, nor do they come with bad smells or fumes. Our students are able to make pro level paintings with those art supplies. Smell is also a non-issue, as we use quality paint like Old Holland rather than cheap, low-grade oil paint with fillers. ~ Daniel

[@Sofia-wx7mf]

speed is my enemy - noted needed to hear that ^^

[@anyaharper2860]

I've been struggling with acrylics for 17 years because I believed that paint thinner was the only way to clean oil paint brushes, and heard horror stories about painters getting brain damage from the toxic fumes. I'm going to switch this week from your tip about the dove bar soap!!!

[@evolveartist]

Awesome! Yeah I clean all my brushes with ivory soap, and don't have any problems! Here's a video on cleaning brushes with ivory soap: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4fNlquOgrSUncU

[@LilacDaisy2]

Oh dear. Fast drying is bad for learning, you say. I just bought gouache to learn with.

[@MrKongatthegates]

You do not have to buy old holland or premium oil paint at all. utrect or even winton are ok, especially for learning. Its all about the drawing, the concept, and lights and darks. The colors are really secondary honestly. a little color goes a long way.

[@ChristinaTodd1970]

Acrylics are soooo hard! I come from a watercolor background and I hate acrylics and acrylic gouache. It isn't Gouache, it's matte acrylic. Nothing beats the buttery consistency of oil paint. That and the endless open time.

[@evolveartist]

Yes the time is so key! If we equate painting to expressing something, or speaking words, acrylic feels like I didn't have enough time to finish what I wanted to say. I have to wait for the next window of opportunity to get another word in, one word at a time. Whereas with oil, I can say a full sentence, or even say a whole paragraph, until everything I wanted to express... has been 😊 I hope that makes sense! ~ Daniel

[@ChristinaTodd1970]

@@evolveartist Great analogy. Thanks

[@Kateily]

I thought with acrylic you especially need water to help you with blending ? More water = more blending ability

[@evolveartist]

More water also = thinner paint and a less luscious gradient compared to oil. You can read my methodology in the description of this video 🙂~ Daniel

[@lukedevine3276]

I haven't watched this video to the end, but note: it also depends on your painting style.

[@Freeyourself206]

Dont use water use a glaze and use Golden open acrylics. I have seen acrylic art that looks just like oil

[@kgc6368]

now it makes sense! thanks

[@evolveartist]

You’re welcome! 🙂 ~ Daniel

[@anton_to_adventures]

thank you

[@mandohoney3829]

Everything you said is true...which is why I quit being a member of Acrylic University...

[@tkv5661]

For a beginner.. . Not knowing what poor quality is. I'm pretty sure that's why I flipped to acrylic bc having no guide... having to self teach ..

[@evolveartist]

Good point! I would definitely recommend looking up oil paint reviews and especially searching for pigment density and how finely the pigment is ground. The more dense and more fine, the better the paint is. If you have a guide to help you, I would highly recommend skipping student quality paint and going straight for pro quality paint. The guide would be able to show you how to maximize the value of the paint and you would learn much, much quicker. In my opinion, student paint is better for artists who already know what they’re doing / what they would use it for. But keep in mind that there are decent quality student paints that are still much much better to learn with than high quality acrylic paint. And definitely avoid “craft” quality oil paints.

[@tkv5661]

@@evolveartist thank you so much for that. I've been painting in acrylics for last couple of years, but I've been contemplating making it switch back to oils or at least give them another. I think your video alone... and response... play I've just kind of been that final push thank you

[@evolveartist]

@@tkv5661 happy to help! 😁~ Daniel

[@Rolanditou]

Oil is better also in my opinion, I have painted with both, and oil is maleable like gold and silver, I love it

[@evolveartist]

Me too 😊~ Daniel

[@AnastasiaEve-p7y]

The man himself is a painting . ......❤😂😂😂😂😂😂 Hahaha thanks for the video

[@americanladybug3354]

I'm going to give oil painting another try. My first oil painting was still wet 3 months after I finished it. 🙃

[@evolveartist]

Wow! Yeah there are plenty of ways to make sure that doesn't happen 🙂 in our Evolve program we give you very clear instructions how to use your oil painting tools, and our students' paintings are usually dry within 24 hours. If you're interesting in learning oil painting from us, please visit this page 😊 bit.ly/evolve-artist-foundation-program And feel free to ask me any questions! ~ Daniel

[@ghazikhan8433]

Love from Pakistan!!! I liked your video..

[@evolveartist]

Thank you Ghazi! 😁 ~ Daniel